Excellent museum for the whole family!Includes a live manatee exhibit, childrens area, changing exhibits, Florida history, planetarium, and much more. It is close to Riverwalk Park, which has playgrounds and a nice walking area on the river.

Great for kids and adults. There is an impressive life size model of an oak tree in the Mosaic Nature area. Planetarium shows cycle every 30 minutes and the speaker is very knowledgeable and fun and he loves questions. Its fun, educating, and engaging.

Loved coming here with the family. Every one who worked there obviously loves what they do, very kind, Very Clean! Id love to see a wedding in their courtyard!

This is a awesome museum! Teachers have free admittance which is nice. But passes are inexpensive anyway. We loved it and spent a couple hours here. Also they have 2 and 3 hour free parking right out front.

It was a fantastic experience! The staff was super kind, helpful and knowledgeable. The safety protocols they had for us made us feel safe and welcome. Highly recommend a visit!

This place was fantastic.. I loved all of it. Highly recommend people to visit. Educational and fun...they have MANATEES. They are so big and cute. I wish I could have hugged one.

1st time there loved it! The staff were so friendly.The astronomer was so good. No question he couldnt answer.You have to see the special show when you go!And we loved the Manatees, so sweet and friendly.

Cool place I would come back. My three year old daughter enjoyed. Staff was nice and the whole museum was very clean. Plan for a few hours and see the planetarium. Shows are short but lots of detail, how ever they do talk during the entire film. Good Q and A before and after.

Dont forget to grab a map from any of the desk ladies! Its very handy to have, even with the little floor markers guiding you. I recommend going first thing and immediately signing up for the planetarium show (its free). Also, the gift shop is fairly well priced. I bought a pretty detailed and high count puzzle for cheaper than most on Amazon. Take your time with each exhibit as many of it is designed to be one way. My favorite areas are the upper level with the more modern and geological collections and of course, the manatee rehabilitation area. At the time of this review, there were three manatees. You can see them from above and after, once you go outside, you can see them through the glass at underwater level. Youre right next to a marina that has an ice cream shop so afterwards, I recommend having a treat there too.

This is one of my familys favorite places to go. We have been visiting here at least 10 times a year for the last 16 years. We live to visit their planetarium and see all of the shows and talk to all of the wonderful staff.

The staff were amazing! The planetarium experience was the best! Everything was well marked for social distancing and sanitary for covid. We spent over 2 hours there. My teenage daughters really enjoyed it as well.

This museum is amazing. They have the most interesting things. Including live manatees. The planetarium was very cool. I highly recommend it.

We usually have a great time here as a family of three 3 with our baby girl, and we are looking forward to going there soon to have fun together & see and hear everything around us. We like that it is baby and child friendly. Thank you for having a good place that the whole family go n have a good time together.

Super awesome place! To go through simply should take around 2 or 3 hours. The gift shop is inexpensive and stocked full, the manatees are active and happy, there are plenty of interactive things going on, and great information to see! All the workers are super informative on what theyre talking about. Overall, one of the happiest experiences Ive ever had.

Years ago I went to laser light shows that they had at the Bishoip Planetarium. That in itself was a wonderful experience. The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature has so much more to offer though than just laser light shows. It is a science and nature museum that helps catch the interest of children, as well as their elder chaperones. It is a way of getting to know the area, and Florida, from an entirely different angle.

Awesome museum. Its a good size and a planetarium with a guide who is very knowledgeable. Do NOT miss this gem of a museum and say hi to the manatee

Really nice, small and well-maintained, nature and science museum. My little guy really enjoyed the exhibits, especially all of the various fossils and skeletons. The staff was extremely welcoming and knowledgeable.

This was a wonderful experience for our family. We were able to watch the manatees get fed and catch the planetarium show, which was a personal favorite! I was impressed with the amount that was on exhibition for such a small museum. They really did an amazing job showing off this beautiful states treasures. The staff was great and personable. I would highly recommend anyone to swing by this great museum!

Very cool museum with diverse collections good for all ages. Lots of polite signage and precautions to keep all staff and visitors safe

Nice displays. Reminded me of a baby Smithsonian. Staff was super helpful and both planetarium and mantee staff were super knowledgeable and made the exhibit even more interesting.

Excellent natural history museum with wonderful paleo-Indian exhibit. The fossils, geology, history of Florida so well displayed. The Clyde Butcher Myakka photography exhibit was superb. And of course the 3 baby manatees are fun to watch. And don’t forget the planetarium!! Good social distancing, free masks and Covid protection. If you are a NARm or Ringling member it’s free.

Our family had an amazing and informative time here. It is chock full of Floridian history and ancient native artifacts. The best part for sure was the manatee habitat. Spend time observing the majestic creatures as they put on weight before they are able to be released back into the wild. The staff here is friendly, and the gift shop is reasonably priced and full of treasures. I wouldnt mind going back here again and again. There is something for everyone in the whole family.

I like the science planetarium was nice as well as the history of not just Florida but of exploration

FANTASTIC.. one of the best museum Ive been to. Easily a good three hours.

Really nice setup! Not a lot people so we didnt have to run into anyone or wait in lines. Love the manatees! The planetarium was also cool, the speaker was very knowledgeable. Price was a couple dollars more than expected, but someone has to feed the manatee right?!

Two words. AMAZING and AWESOME!!!! The gentleman who did the talk on Dark matter and Black Hole was a great speaker. He did a fantastic job of explaining to a little girl what would happen if you fell/jumped into a black hole. A must see and worth the trip. Two senior citizens and one adult $53. Pretty cheap for a great afternoon. Plan on about 2-3 hours.

This place was great. My son and I spent 4 hours trying to do everything they had to offer. My son enjoyed every minute of the museum from the planetarium to the manatee exhibit. Every corner was filled with wonderment in my 10 year old sons eyes. To me this is priceless. I would highly recommend bringing your family here. It is a great place to learn and have fun. I would give it a10 if I could.

Very lovely and interesting place! We have a lot of fun there! Good for every age!!!

My favorite part of the museum was watching and hearing about the recovering manatees from both the upper and the lower levels. I recommend taking your time and reading the informative signs by the displays or if youre lucky, have someone show you around. Along as your in the neighborhood, be sure to walk the Riverwalk as well.

It was a great little museum! The manatees were so cute and you get to watch them munch on lettuce. The planetarium shows are very high quality. I learned a lot about prehistoric Southern Florida in the museum section. Highly recommend for a laid back educational afternoon.

Amazing place to visit! People are so kind and its so educational while very fun!

It was a great experience. The planetiaum was very but thought a little to short. But other wise great

My favorite part of the museum was watching and hearing about the recovering manatees from both the upper and the lower levels. I recommend taking your time and reading the informative signs by the displays or if youre lucky, have someone show you around. Along as your in the neighborhood, be sure to walk the Riverwalk as well.

Came for the Planetarium and saw every show they offered. I was comfortable and relaxed and totally didnt fall asleep during the last show. The rest of the museum was delightful. Would go again.

3 museums in one, Planetarium, Manatee Rehab, and Local Archeology Museum. All quite good. I spent several hours in the Planatarium and could have spent more. Better for 3rd grade and up.

Great planetarium program about Mars in opposition this month. Nice staff.

Nice experience overall - but has one big disappointment! We walked here, as it’s right off the Bradenton Riverwalk. The museum area is very nice, worth visiting, lots of artifacts. If you’re curious about the history of Florida, it’s all explained very well on the display boards here.You’re liking going to see the Manatees in the aquarium though, right? Well, you’re only going to see two at the Presentation and they don’t do anything but swim and just sit there on their own. It was literally 20 minutes of a lady talking to the audience with zero interaction with the Manatees. Fee is $19 for adults, it’s worth one visit.

The museum is beautiful and very clean. The staff was very nice and I learned a lot walking through and exploring the museum. The planetarium section was gorgeous. Overall this museum is worth a visit (and the prices arent to bad either!).

My daughter and I enjoyed this museum, especially the manatees.

Best part is the planetarium and the extremely knowledgeable instructor who makes astrophysics easy enough for a 5 year old to understand. Also the manatees are cool too.

They have good artifacts and they have THREE MANATEES! I hope you can go to this fun and awsome place.

They have Manatees, a pretty cool natural history museum, a planetarium. Its fun filled action packed and a rip roaring great time.

Planetarium is a hidden gem in the area. Great afternoon with the family. Also love the reaction of the historical Florida swamp village home.

Love this place we will be buying season ticket kids had so much fun and not expensive at all it’s a educational family trip and the kids are having so much fun they don’t realize they’re learning what a great time I love this place

This was our second visit to the museum, primarily to check out the new Backyard Universe. It’s a fun area for kids to explore, and the rest of the museum’s exhibits are interesting to walk through as well. Don’t miss a planetarium show, and be sure to visit the manatees!

Nice and friendly staff. The place is a little and is not too crowded which means good. The planetarium show is good and funny. It is long but make sure you jump in the right time for the funny animation of planets and space.

Me and my wife went there today for the Smithsonian free museum day. It was awesome. We checked out the Planetarium, Aquarium, and the museum. It was a bit crowded, but was worth it. The planetarium show was fabulous. Watching The Manatees swim was also very nice.

Traditional, little bit of everything museum. The hands down favorite in our family was the manatee rehab tank where we happily watched a pair of the ungainly beasts for 15 minutes. We also enjoyed the mythological creatures exhibit. Theres an extensive natural history gallery, a cultural as local history exhibit, and upstairs you can give everything from old firearms to exotic dolls. Not much interactivity for the kids in the main galleries, but friendly staff was running a fossil activity they all (ages 6-10) got into. We did not visit the planetarium or backyard installation.

Great for kids. Had lots of fun. I wish the shirts in the gift shop were s bit cheaper. I would of gotten a couple.

New building and exciting ways of communicating science and nature... would recommend a few hours there for sure!! Pictures posted are part of a pictorial display of animals in nature and there status of endangerment or no endangerment of extinction.

The Bishop is a small museum with some fossils, Indian artifacts and other interesting local historic items. Additionally it shelters several manatees but the Real Gem however is the Planeterium....here youll learn about the Universe and see our place in it while travel through space. They have several different presentations daily and they are all awesome!!!

The manatees alone are worth the price of admission, but you also have access to a very educational visit to the museum and the planetarium.

Small, concise, and creative, the Bishop features a wide range of scientific information, ranging from paleontology to historical events/people. Lastly, if theres one thing to see whilst there, the manatee enclosure is beautiful! Its a relaxing and educational visit, the enclosed photo being from one of their limited time exhibits.

Awesome place to Visit. Friendly kind Informative people

Was Awesome watched a show on Dark Matter and was blown away with the effects, comfortable seating and a lot of great history of our local area! My daughter and the rest of the family loved it. BRING BACK PINK FLYOD THE WALL laser light show please.

They are putting finishing touches on amazing interactive play space. Reminds me of beloved Fernbank Museum in Atlanta. Our kids need a special place to still imagine and wonder while also learning and keeping in touch with the natural world.

The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature is a wonderful place to visit. Very informative. I loved seeing the manatees in rehab.

Super friendly staff, amazing shows at the planetarium and the manatees are icing on the cake!

Beautiful place! Awesome wedding venue!

Great place for kids to learn about fossils and see manatees. ASTC passport participant.

The museum is small but made for a great escape from the heat. They have a manatee tank with 3 live manatees. There is also a planetarium where they show movies relating to astronomy. The movies are projected on the dome theater and provide an AMAZING, educational show even kids enjoy. The theater has ice cold a/c and very comfortable seating. This is a great place to hang out and entertain the kids for a few hours.

My kid love the museum. We also enjoy it.

Great place! The man who runs the planetarium show is very informative and will answer any questions you may have!

Perfect day. Great place to visit. Very educational.

Great place to spend a few hours by yourself, with friends or with the kids. Something for everyone. The planetarium is amazing which is included with admission. A must. They have differnet shows throughout the day. The museum itself is a step back into historic manatee county along the river front where native american culture once fourished. They also have a manatee exhibit included in the admission. Unfortunately Snooty is no longer with us but his memory lives on. Difinitiely check this museum out if you are spending day in Bradenton. Parking is free and admission is reasonable. There is no food allowed in the museum but there is a very nice gift shop.

Very informative and very kid friendly. They have some exhibits where you can pull things out for example: the trees have flaps that show insects native to Florida. I didnt see many staff on duty. It is pretty much a self guided tour the manatees where adorable to see.

Great experience for a family. There is also a store to buy some souvenirs. There is a planetarium, manatee exhibit, fossils, and more!

Stellar museum/planetarium. Cant believe it wasnt busier. Howard, who did the planetarium shows is a real gem, extremely knowledgeable and able to explain difficult concepts in everyday language AND make it enjoyable. Well worth a visit, learned a lot and had fun doing so.

The best attraction for me is the planetarium.. it is amazing... the talk and 180 view gives you a lot of joy... you can visit there and spend the whole day inside the planetarium..

If we didnt get in for free, I would be really disappointed. They definitely shouldnt list themselves as an aquarium as there is only one manatee tank.

Great collections. Fun exhibits.

So many option of what to do. Manatees, treehouse, artifacts, gift shop, and more

Planetarium is interesting but may need some updates to programs. A treasure trove of Florida history and interactive displays for visitors of all ages. Excellent location next to Riverwalk, parking on the weekend was easy.

Very nice, friendly staff, great place! Loved the Manatees

Had a great time!!

Small but a nice museum with several topics covered. We watched the tour of the universe in the planetarium and it was excellent with a great presenter.

Great day trip, planetarium is amazing. The recent shows in the planetarium are a bit dry and techy in dark matter. Last year the shows were more planet based and less dry. Still great education and exhibits

Enjoyed the exhibits, the planetarium and the manatee pool.

A true hidden gem. Highly recommended. Weve been back twice now. Great experience and things of fun for all ages!

Great way to the beat the heat if youre out in the bradenton/anna maria area. The price is a little high for the size of the museum which is why it doesnt get 5 stars. They have manatees here that you can see as well as other little sea creatures. The planetarium was awesome as well. Learned some things about the area that I never knew about.

We are annual pass holders and love this place. Definitely worth a visit. Kid friendly. The manatees are always fun to watch.

An unexpected treasure! This small museum and planetarium is well curated and informative. We particularly loved the planetarium lecture, where a speaker talked about and showed us what we could see in the current night sky.

We enjoyed the South Florida Museum. Between the aquarium, planetarium, and museum, it offers variety at a great value. No food here, but plenty of restaurants nearby (walking distance). Staff was friendly and even pointed out some local places that we could eat. They also offer reciprocity for up to 4 family members if you are a member of any ASTC museum.

Longest Ive ever spent at a museum! Theres so many things to see and do. I havent been to a planetarium show since I was a kid so seeing the upgraded technology was incredible to experience. We enjoyed our time there.

Excellent experience, we will come back again

Excellent service, great museum, the planetarium and manatees were the best. The gift store was nice, and the exhibits are great- professionally done and very educational. Theyre just missing a cafe, but everything else is perfect.

We went to the planetarium, the speaker was so informative and interesting. All the employees were so helpful. We also saw the manatees. A great museum!

Howard at the Planetarium is exceptional at explaining and illustrating the vastness of space, dark matter and dark space. Its always a pleasure to bring guests of all ages to experience the Bishop.

Great place to bring the family! Lots of fun and learning!

These are pictures of early construction bot top is on all glass is in. It is beautiful. Come down town and see it as it develops.

This museum has lots of widely varied exhibits, heavy on history and local animals. Well done,informational diaromas. And an interesting, informational manatee rehab area, with some great clear viewing of manatees.

Easily a favorite spot. You cant beat the Planetarium! The museum is informative with local Florida exhibits. It is never overly crowded which actually makes this place the gem that it is. You can actually walk around and enjoy the exhibits and linger for a while.

The kids were more than entertained to explore the museum and hear all about the Manatees and their rehabilitation. The educator was extremely knowledgeable and so obviously passionate about her work. So very glad we were able to include this in our vacation!

Friendly staff, beautiful exhibits and of course the manatees! Baca and ONeil were so much fun to watch. The staff was very knowledgeable and everything was well maintained. I have already started recommending it.

Planetarium show was really fun. Whoopie Goldberg narrated it. Would have liked to have spent more time in the museum section. The manatee rehab is a great thing. One of the people helping them get back to good health gave a very interesting talk and answered lots of questions. Sorry no pix of the planetarium.

Great planetarium with narration. Mannatee for viewing. Kids room things to do. Good history for our area, can be seen and read.

My kids loved to see the skeletons and artifacts

DJ’d a wedding here. It was beautiful. Very romantic.

This is a great place to see manatees up close, and receive a lot of information about them and their habitat. They also have many exhibits showing Florida life and history. But the best part is the planetarium! The presenter did a great job of explaining the solar system, the Milky Way, and the Universe. He used many examples to help the audience grasp his descriptions.

Cool to see the manatees and museum exhibits. The price was reasonable and we even got 2 free passes for a future visit for filling out a very brief survey